Fusible Quilt Batt

ABSTRACT

A fusible quilt batt. The fusible batt includes a non-woven fibrous web and a heat sealable and releasable adhesive. The adhesive is coated on the outer surface of the web and insinuates between the fibers of the web internally. The adhesive thus binds the fibers of the web and provides a tackiness sufficient to allow the web to be applied to a backing material at an elevated temperature and removed from the backing at room temperature or an elevated temperature. After removal of the web from the backing material it may be reapplied to a backing material at an elevated temperature. The attachment, removal and reattachment process is repeatable.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/712,462, filed Nov. 13, 2003, hereby incorporated byreference as if reproduced in its entirety, which is acontinuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/873,597 filed Jun. 4, 2001, now abandoned, and hereby incorporated byreference as if reproduced in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

Not applicable.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a fusible quilt batt and moreparticularly to a batt including a non-woven fibrous web and an adhesivesuch that the web can be applied to, removed from, and reapplied to abacking material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Non-woven fibrous webs are used as a component of quilts. In the processof making a quilt, at least three component layers are typically placedtogether: (1) a pieced top fabric, (2) a batt, and (3) a backing. Thebatt is the layer that provides loft to the quilt and is located betweenthe top fabric and the backing. The batt is a non-woven fibrous web andtypically includes cotton, polyester, or a combination of cotton andpolyester. Additionally, the batt may be made of other fibers, such aswool or rayon.

As described above, the non-woven web of the batt is positioned betweenthe top fabric and the backing of the quilt. The top fabric and/or thebacking are then affixed to the batt in order to aid in completing thequilt. For example, pieces of top fabric including patterns for thequilt may be attached to the batt in order that one may draw or cutaround the pattern. Additionally, finished patterns may be temporarilypositioned on the batt by various methods and subsequently permanentlyaffixed thereto by intricate stitching. Prior to the final intricatestitching, the backing material, the non-woven web of the batt and thetop fabric are mechanically bonded together. This mechanical bondingprocess is known as basting. Some methods of basting include pins, largestitches, and plastic tabs. However, these current methods of bastingsuffer from several drawbacks.

First, pins are difficult to use in that they are unwieldy and their useis time consuming. For example, should a pattern be incorrectly placedon and pinned to the non-woven fibrous web of the batt, any removal andreplacement of the pattern requires the removal and replacement of allpins. Not only is this a time consuming process but the handling of pinscan result in a user sticking and injuring himself or herself. Second,large stitches also suffer the drawback of being time consuming due totheir relative permanence as a method of fixation. For example, should apattern be incorrectly placed and stitched to the non-woven web, anycorrection requires cutting away and removing the large stitches,repositioning the pattern, and reaffixing by stitching. Third, plastictabs also suffer many of the same drawbacks due to their relativepermanence in fixation. These plastic tabs are generally applied by atab gun which directs the tab through the backing material, batt, andtop fabric. Like pins and large stitches, any repositioning of fabricrequires the removal and replacement of the plastic tabs.

Other methods of affixation have been developed which do not relativelypermanently affix the adjacent surfaces of batt and fabric. However,these methods suffer from other drawbacks. An example of one such methodis the use of weights. In this method, a top fabric will be positionedon top of the batt and held in place by weights. Although the weightsare not as time consuming or unwieldy to remove and replace as pins orlarge stitches, there remain several drawbacks associated with theiruse. First, since the weight system does not directly fix the pattern tothe backing material, the pattern may easily shift during use. Second,it is very difficult to cut around patterns upon which weights have beenplaced, because any movement of the material or the weights may causethe pattern to shift.

It is clear that current methods of affixing top fabrics, batts, andbacking materials one to another to form a quilt suffer from manydrawbacks. Thus, it would be desirable to have a non-woven fibrous webfor a batt that sufficiently adheres to a material backing or fabricpatterns without the time consuming problems inherent in pin placementor other methods of basting. Additionally, it would be desirable forsuch a non-woven web to be easily separated from the backing material orfabric patterns in the event of incorrect placement. Finally, it wouldbe desirable for the non-woven web to easily be readhered to thesurrounding fabric following repositioning.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a fusible quilt batt eliminates thedrawbacks of batts of the prior art as developed in the background ofthe invention. In particular, the present invention provides battincluding a non-woven fibrous web having a heat sealable and releasableadhesive disposed in the web and on at least one outer surface of theweb. Generally, the adhesive will be disposed on both the upper andlower outer surfaces of the web. This adhesive thus both binds thefibers of the web and provides a tackiness sufficient to allow the webto be applied to, removed from, and reapplied to an adjacent material,such as a quilt backing material or other fabric, by the application ofheat and pressure.

In use, the fusible quilt batt of the present invention is placedadjacent to a backing material in a position such that the adhesive onthe lower surface of the web contacts a confronting surface of thebacking material. Additionally, top fabric for a quilt may be positionedadjacent to adhesive on the upper surface of the web. After positioningthe web relative to these adjacent materials, heat and pressure areapplied. This softens the adhesive and binds the web to the backingmaterial and/or top fabric. Heat and pressure may be applied by an ironor other method readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Uponcooling, the web and any adjacent material are substantiallysemi-permanently affixed one to another.

As previously described, the heat-sealable and releasable adhesive is ofsuch a composition that the fusible quilt batt may be separated from thebacking material and/or top fabric by peeling apart. The use of heathastens the process by once again softening the adhesive and allowingthe backing material and/or top fabric to be removed from the non-wovenweb in the event that the backing material and/or top fabric wasinitially misplaced relative to the web. After removal, the backingmaterial and/or top fabric may be correctly repositioned adjacent to thebatt and substantially semi-permanently affixed thereto by theapplication of heat and pressure. In an alternative embodiment, theadhesive may be disposed on only one surface of the non-woven fibrousweb so that the web may be adhered to either a backing material or a topfabric on that one side of the web.

With the fusible quilt batt of the present invention, one may affix thebatt to a top fabric and/or backing material of a quilt whileeliminating the time consuming and tedious basting methods of the priorart. The present invention also provides a batt which allows theattached fabrics to be easily repositioned if the batt or other fabricwas initially misplaced. These and other advantages of the presentinvention will be apparent from the description thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and,together with the general description of the invention given above andthe detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve toexplain the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a fusible non-woven fibrous web inaccordance with the principles of the present invention depicting asingle layer of fibers coated with adhesive on both the upper and lowersurface thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fusible non-woven fibrous web inaccordance with the principles of the present invention depicting asingle layer of fibers coated with adhesive on the upper surfacethereof;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a fusible non-woven fibrous web inaccordance with the principles of the present invention depictingmultiple layers of fibers coated with adhesive on the upper surfacethereof;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a fusible non-woven fibrous web inaccordance with the principles of the present invention depictingmultiple layers of fibers coated with adhesive on both the upper andlower surface thereof;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the component layers of a quiltdepicting a top fabric and a backing material adhered to the fusiblenon-woven fibrous web of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the componentlayers of a quilt depicting a top fabric and a backing material adheredto the fusible non-woven fibrous web of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the figures, and in particular to FIG. 1, the presentinvention provides a fusible non-woven fibrous web 10 in accordance withthe principles of the present invention. The non-woven web 10 includes aheat-sealable and releasable adhesive 12 which is disposed in the fibersof the web 10 and on at least one surface of the web 10. The portion ofthe adhesive 12 that is insinuated into the web 10 binds the fibers ofthe web 10 in order to keep the web 10 intact. Additionally, the portionof the heat sealable and releasable adhesive 12 that is located on theouter surface of the web 10 provides a tackiness sufficient to allow theweb 10 to be applied to, removed from, and reapplied to an adjacentsurface. In a quilt, the adjacent surface may be located on a backingmaterial 14 or top fabric 16. By allowing for bonding of these fabricswith a heat-sealable and releasable adhesive 12, the present inventionovercomes the problems discussed in the background of the invention byeliminating the need for mechanically bonding the top fabric 16, web 10,and backing material 14 together by currently used methods of basting.

The fusible non-woven fibrous web 10 of the present invention includesany fibers known to those skilled in the art for forming non-woven webs10 that are flexible and can provide loft. More specifically, inparticular embodiments of the present invention the fibers of thefusible non-woven fibrous web 10 are selected from cotton, polyester,rayon, and wool, or any combination of those materials. The fibers maybe carded into a single layer or, alternatively, may be air blown into asingle layer. In other embodiments of the invention, multiple layers maybe carded and/or air blown and subsequently placed one on top of anotherto produce a multilayered non-woven fibrous web. Following itsformation, the non-woven web 10 is substantially flat, having an uppersurface 18 of relatively large surface area and a lower surface 20 ofrelatively large surface area.

A heat sealable and releasable adhesive 12 is disposed on at least oneof the upper and lower surfaces 18,20 of the non-woven web 10. As theadhesive 12 is applied to the web 10 by any method known to thoseskilled in the art, at least a portion of the adhesive 12 insinuatesinto and between the individual fibers of the web 10. In doing so, theadhesive 12 binds the fibers one to another to keep the non-woven web 10intact. The coating of adhesive 12 disposed on the surface of the web 10allows the web 10 to be affixed to an adjacent surface. Followingapplication of the adhesive 12 to the web 10, the adhesive 12 remainssubstantially in the web 10 during removal of the web 10 from andreapplication of the web 10 to the surface of an adjacent material. Theadhesive 12 used in the present invention is a thermoplastic and, morespecifically, is an acrylic, vinyl acrylic, vinyl acetate, or ethylenevinyl acetate. More particularly, the heat-sealable and releasableadhesive 12 may be selected from but is not limited to the following:Reichold Elvace 40722 (ethylene vinyl acetate), National Starch 25-4401(ethylene vinyl acetate), Parachem AC 786 (acrylic), Parachem AC 777(acrylic), Parachem VA 928 (vinyl acetate), Rohm & Haas B-15 (acrylic),Rohm & Haas 3270 (acrylic), or Rohm & Haas Rovene 438 (vinyl acrylic).These adhesives may include other copolymerizable components such asitaconic acid or other similar acids. Either one adhesive 12 or variouscombinations of adhesives 12 may be used in order to achieve a tackinessthat is aggressive enough to bond the fibers of the non-woven web 10together and to hold the various fibers and layers of the non-woven web10 intact. At the same time, the tackiness should not be overlyaggressive such that a top fabric 16 or backing material 14 cannot beseparated from web 10 following their affixation one to another, or suchthat the web 10 cannot be effectively unrolled after packaging andshipping. In one particular embodiment of the present invention, theheat-sealable and releasable binder disposed in and on the non-wovenfibrous web 10 is Parachem AC 786 (acrylic).

There is also provided a method of making the fusible non-woven fibrousweb 10 of the present invention. Referring now to FIG. 2, by thismethod, the fibers that will comprise a first embodiment of thenon-woven web 10 are carded. Next, the heat sealable and releasableadhesive 12 is applied to the upper surface 18 of the web 10. Thisapplication of adhesive 12 may be accomplished by any method known tothose skilled in the art. Examples of such methods include glazing,print bonding, and spray bonding. As the adhesive 12 is applied to theweb 10, a certain amount flows into and becomes insinuated within andbetween the fibers of the web 10, thereby holding the web 10 together.The remainder of the adhesive 12 coats the upper surface 18 of the web10 to provide the tackiness that allows the web 10 to be adhered to anadjacent surface, such as a backing material 14 or top fabric 16.

Referring once again to FIG. 1, in a second embodiment of the fusiblenon-woven fibrous web 10 of the present invention, the individual fibersof the web 10 are carded as a single layer. Next, the heat sealable andreleasable adhesive 12 is applied to both the upper surface 18 and thelower surface 20 of the web. This application of adhesive 12 may beaccomplished by glazing, print bonding, spray bonding, or any othermethod known to those skilled in the art. During application, a certainamount of the adhesive 12 insinuates between the fibers of the web 10,to bind those fibers one to another. The remainder of the adhesive 12coats the upper and lower surfaces 18,20 of the web 10. This allows theweb 10 to be adhered to adjacent surfaces on both sides of the web 10,such as a backing material 14 and a top fabric 16.

Referring now to FIG. 3, in a third embodiment of the present invention,multiple layers of fibers may be carded or air-laid, and subsequentlylayered on top of one another to form the non-woven web 10. Next, theheat sealable and releasable adhesive 12 is applied to the upper surface18 of the web 10. This application of adhesive 12 may be accomplished byglazing, print bonding, spray bonding, or any other method known tothose skilled in the art. During application, a certain amount of theadhesive 12 insinuates between the fibers of each layer of the web 10.The adhesive 12 thus binds the individual fibers of each layer one toanother, and binds the multiple layers together. The remainder of theadhesive 12 coats the upper surface 18 of the web 10 to provide thetackiness that allows the web 10 to be adhered to an adjacent surface,such as a backing material 14 or top fabric 16.

More specifically, in this third embodiment of the present invention, afiber blend of 50% cotton/50% polyester is provided. This fiber blend isfirst carded on a carding machine. Next, additional webs 10 of 50%cotton/50% polyester are carded. These multiple webs 10 are then laid ona conveyor belt. The total fiber weight of these multiple layers ofpolyester/cotton fiber blend is approximately 2.12 ounces per squareyard. The upper surface 18 of the non-woven fibrous web 10 is then“glazed” with the heat-sealable and releasable adhesive 12. Theparticular adhesive 12 used in this embodiment is Parachem AC 786(acrylic) that has been diluted with water to a final composition ofapproximately 6.67 percent solids. Following cooling the dry weight ofthe heat sealable and releasable adhesive 12 on the upper surface 18 ofthe non-woven web 10 is approximately 0.14 ounce per square yard.

As described above, the particular method by which the heat-sealable andreleasable adhesive 12 is applied to the non-woven web 10 is by glazing.In the web 10 of the above described embodiment, Parachem AC 786 acrylicis transferred from a bath, up a roll and onto the upper surface 18 ofthe web 10. This transfer is achieved by surface tension. As theadhesive 12 is applied to the web 10, the majority of the adhesive 12remains on the upper surface 18 of the non-woven web 10. This creates asmooth facing of the adhesive 12 on the upper surface 18 of the web 10.The adhesive 12 provides the web 10 with its fusible properties whichallows a user to be able to affix the non-woven web 10 to a top fabric16. During the glazing process, a small amount of the heat-sealable andreleasable adhesive 12 flows into the web 10 structure. This has theadded effect of bonding the fibers of the web 10 one to another andbonding multiple layers of fibers one to another internally.

After application of the heat-sealable and releasable adhesive 12 to theupper surface 18 of the non-woven fibrous web 10 by glazing, the web 10including adhesive 12 is passed through an oven in order to heat theadhesive 12. This oven is held at a temperature range of approximately210° F. to 260° F. The heat provided by the oven drives any water offthe non-woven fibrous web 10 and softens the heat-sealable andreleasable adhesive 12 in the non-woven web 10 to bind the fibers of theweb together. Referring now to FIG. 4, in a fourth embodiment of thefusible non-woven fibrous web 10 of the present invention, the lowersurface 20 of the non-woven web 10 of the above described thirdembodiment may also be coated with the heat-sealable and releasableadhesive 12 by the process of glazing. This glazing process is performedin the same manner as described above for the upper surface 18 of thenon-woven web 10. Thus, the total dry weight of the heat sealable andreleasable adhesive 12 on both sides of the web 10 will be approximately0.28 ounces per square yard. After both sides of the web 10 have beenglazed and heat set in an oven, the finished web 10 is then rolled andpackaged. The total weight of the web 10 is approximately 2.40 ouncesper square yard.

In other alternate embodiments of the present invention, the webs 10 maybe made of other materials, including but not limited to cotton,polyester, rayon, nylon, and/or wool, or combinations of these fibers.Additionally, the component fibers of the webs 10 may be air laid, andmultiple webs 10 may be air laid one on top of the other. Further, theheat-sealable and releasable adhesive 12 may be applied by any methodknown to those skilled in the art such as by spraying, by saturating theentire web 10 and allowing migration of the adhesive 12 during drying orby applying foamed liquid latex to the surfaces of the web 10 andapplying a vacuum to pull a minimal amount of the foamed latex into theweb 10 structure to allow for the internal binding of the fibers.Finally, one may use other methods known to those skilled in the art tofirst bond the fibers of the web 10 together and subsequently apply aheat-sealable and releasable adhesive 12 to at least one outer surfaceof the web 10.

In use, and referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the fusible non-wovenfibrous web 10 of the present invention eliminates the above-describedtime-consuming methods of basting a quilt. First, the non-woven web 10is unrolled and/or unfolded to a single layer and cut to the desiredsize to fit the backing material 14 and/or top fabric 16. In thisembodiment, adhesive 12 is disposed on both the upper and lower surfaces18, 20 of the non-woven web 10. The non-woven web 10 is then placed overthe quilt backing material 14 with the lower surface 20 of the non-wovenweb 10 confronting the backing material 14. Next, patterns of top fabric16 for a quilt are positioned over the upper surface 18 of the non-wovenweb 10. Heat and pressure are then applied to the top fabric 16,non-woven web 10, and backing material 14. This application of heat andpressure causes the adhesive 12 to soften and become more tacky, therebyadhering the non-woven web 10 to both the top fabric 16 and the backingmaterial 14. Heat and pressure may be applied by any method, but isgenerally accomplished by the use of a steam iron.

If the top fabric 16 or backing material 14 is inadvertently misplacedon the web 10, the adjoining components can be separated one fromanother and reapplied in the correct position. This can be accomplishedby peeling apart the web 10 and top fabric 16. The use of heat willhasten the process as the adhesive softens and regains its tackiness. Asthe temperature of the heat-sealable and releasable adhesive 12increases, the adhesive 12 softens and regains its tackiness. Thisallows the top fabric 16 or backing material 14 to be peeled away fromthe non-woven web 10. The top fabric 16 and/or backing material 14 canthen be repositioned and heat and pressure reapplied to the top fabric16 and web 10 in order to once again affix the adjacent components oneto another.

As described above, the adhesives used in embodiments of the inventionare preferably thermoplastic. They soften and become more tacky uponheating, but do not cross link. They retain their thermoplasticcharacteristics. Such adhesives allow a quilt cover to be removed andreattached to a batt a number of times.

After the batt is manufactured as described above, it must be foldedand/or rolled for shipping to a sales location. During storage andshipping, the batt may experience elevated temperatures, that is,temperatures substantially above normal room temperature. It isdesirable that the adhesive not significantly soften and become tackyduring shipping or storage, because the adhesive may bind the foldedlayers together and prevent unrolling or unfolding without damaging thebatt. The adhesive should be selected to have minimal tackiness at themaximum temperatures normally experienced during shipping and storage.

During the manufacturing process described above, the adhesive isexposed to an elevated temperature after it has been applied to thebatt. These temperatures are selected to not only drive off the water inthe adhesive as applied, but to soften the adhesive so that it binds thefibers of the batt together. After the batt with adhesive is cooled toroom temperature, the adhesive should have minimal tackiness so that thebatt can then be folded and/or rolled and packaged for shipping withoutadhering to itself.

After a batt has been purchased by a customer and unrolled, it may againbe heated so that the adhesive becomes tacky. In a preferred quiltassembly process, a customer may position a quilt cover on a batt afterit has been unrolled. The customer may then apply heat together withpressure on the quilt cover and through the cover to the adhesive toachieve a semi-permanent attachment of the cover to the batt. Assuggested above, a conventional steam iron may conveniently heat theadhesive through the cover to an appropriate temperature above themaximum temperature experienced in shipping. Even at this level ofattachment, the cover can be peeled from the batt at room temperature.If heat is applied before or during the peeling process, the adhesivecan be softened and the cover can be more easily peeled from the batt. Apreviously attached cover which has been peeled off and repositioned maybe again semi-permanently attached to the batt by applying heat andpressure to the cover and batt, e.g. with a steam iron. This attachment,removal, and reattachment process may be repeated as needed to properlyposition the cover on the batt.

As discussed above, a convenient and preferred method of heating theadhesive to attach and reattach covers to a batt or to remove coversfrom a batt is use of a steam iron. The moisture provided by a steamiron softens the adhesive more quickly and effectively than a dry iron.This may be a result of better heat transfer by the steam.

While the present invention has been illustrated by the description ofvarious embodiments thereof, and while these embodiments have beendescribed in considerable detail, it is not the intention of theApplicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appendedclaims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications willreadily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broaderaspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representativesystem and method, and illustrative example shown and described.Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departingfrom the spirit or scope of Applicant's general inventive concept.

1. A method of making a fusible quilt batt, comprising: providing atleast one non-woven fibrous web selected to provide loft to a quilt; andapplying a heat sealable and releasable thermoplastic adhesive to atleast one surface of the web; wherein the adhesive is selected andapplied to provide a tackiness at the at least one surface sufficient toallow the web to be attached to a quilt cover at an elevatedtemperature, removed from the quilt cover at room temperature, andreattached to a quilt cover at an elevated temperature.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the step of applying a heat sealable and releasablethermoplastic adhesive to at least one surface of the web comprises amethod selected from one or more of: glazing, print bonding, spraybonding, saturating the web, and applying liquid latex to the at leastone surface.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising bonding thefibers of the web together before applying the heat sealable andreleasable thermoplastic adhesive to the at least one surface of theweb.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein a portion of the adhesiveinsinuates into and between fibers of the web.
 5. The method of claim 4,further comprising binding the fibers of the web one to another with theportion of the adhesive that insinuates into and between fibers of theweb.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one non-wovenfibrous web is carded.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the method forapplying the adhesive to the non-woven fibrous web is glazing.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein the glazing comprises the step of applyingthe adhesive to a first side of the web.
 9. The method of claim 8,further comprising the step of curing the adhesive on the first side ofthe web.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of curing theadhesive further comprises heating the non-woven fibrous web and theadhesive to a temperature in the range of 210 degrees F. to 260 degreesF.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of applyingthe adhesive to a second side of the non-woven fibrous web.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising the step of curing the adhesiveon the second side of the non-woven fibrous web.
 13. The method of claim12 wherein the step of curing the adhesive further comprises heating thenon-woven fibrous web and the adhesive to a temperature in the range of210 degrees F. to 260 degrees F.
 14. The method of claim 7, wherein amajority of the adhesive remains on the at least one surface of the web.15. The method of claim 7, wherein the adhesive creates a smooth facingof the adhesive on the at least one surface of the web.
 16. The methodof claim 7, wherein a small amount of the adhesive flows into the web.17. The method of claim 16, further comprising bonding the fibers of theweb one to another with the small amount of the adhesive that flows intothe web.
 18. The method of claim 1, further comprising diluting theadhesive with water before applying the heat sealable and releasablethermoplastic adhesive to the at least one surface of the web.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, further comprising, after applying a heat sealableand releasable thermoplastic adhesive to at least one surface of theweb, passing the web through an oven and thereby driving water off theweb.